Living on a Canal Boat in Amsterdam

/ rothpoetry

EER_0064 (3)

Can you imagine living on an old boat

along a well traveled canal in Amsterdam?

Watching the days come and go as cruisers float by

Staring into your windows // taking pictures of you

Tired of waving // you just ignore them all…

like a passing freight train in your backyard.

Perhaps it’s the mystique or the novelty of it all

Winter, Spring. Summer. and Fall

The old boat sees it all…

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

Click on the photos to see them enlarged.

Today at d’verse, Sarah asked us to write a poem related to boats.  I thought of our trip last summer, which I have mentioned before, and our canal cruise in Amsterdam. I was amazed at how many people lived in old boats tied up along the canal. This is just a glimpse of what we saw that day.

Join us at: https://dversepoets.com

75 thoughts on “Living on a Canal Boat in Amsterdam”

  2. Lovely photos, Dwight! I was in Amsterdam about 1990 and went on a canal boat that accommodated my husband’s wheelchair. We had been afraid we would miss that experience. We traveled all over the Netherlands for a month while he was doing a study of the Dutch health care system. I thought the Dutch people had a lot of common sense, and enjoyed visiting in some of their homes. Your post brought back great memories! Take care.Cheryl

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  5. Wonderful, Dwight. I love Amsterdam – I think it has always been one of the cities with a European vibe. I could imagine to live there – even on an old boat, but maybe on a better hidden and more quiet arm of the canal. As soon this Corona drama is over I have to go there again… it is not too far from here.

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    • Thanks Carsten! That would be a great place to spend a summer. So much to sketch and paint! It is a wonderfully stimulating place to visit. So much to see as you float down the canals. We loved it also! So glad you enjoyed my post!

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  11. That looks like a dream-come-true lifestyle to me. I wouldn’t want to be gawked at, but to travel up and down the waterways and pull over at any time and take a bike ride would be a glorious way to live.

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  12. What an amazing life! For a vacation, I would happily swap this for any hotel! Not sure about the prospect of staying there lifelong though, but maybe life adapts itself to its course.
    That’s a lovely poem too, and some lovely pictures.

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  15. I’ve also tried to imagine this life when walking along the Regent’s Canal in London. I think I would get sick of tourists looking in the windows! A lovely poem with some great pictures to accompany it.

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  16. There’s something about water in a city that brings it to life – especially when that water is used. I love Amsterdam, too. It’s funny how people live on a boat permanently in one place, when you’d think the point of a boat would be the movement. Still, it’s a lovely, atmospheric poem, and your pictures are great. I love the little moments you captured.

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  17. I HAVE dreamed of this in night-dreams and day dreams! There is something so interesting and romantic about it!
    Your poem and photos have captured this so beautifully, Dwight!
    In our travels, we’ve seen some unique houseboats…I always wonder if they reflect the personality of those living in them. 🙂
    HUGS!!! 🙂

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  20. There’s a real appeal to living on a boat. But not to being fodder for photo ops! There used to be people living on their boats at the 79th street boat basin here in NYC–I wonder if they ares still there? (K)

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  31. Thanks for taking me on this trip with you! As one who cruises on Celebrity….not gargantuous boats but cruise ships….I often wonder what it would be like to live on a house boat somewhere….or to ride in one of this river boats. You’ve taken me there. 🙂

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